We are choosing to stay in hostels for most of our trip for two reasons. The first is our budget. Hostels are more affordable than hotels in many of the places we are traveling. And the only differences I have found between a hotel and hostel room is that there is no TV or phone, two things we are not using often on this trip. The other reason is that staying in hostels increases our chances of meeting and interacting with other travelers. Whether they are on vacation for a week or on an extended trip like us, they often have interesting stories to share. So far I have found it hard to simply strike up a conversation with other people in our hostels. I am not sure why there is this hesitation on my part but I will be working on getting over it.
In the meantime, I have discovered a crutch to help me out: wearing clothing with the logos of sports teams on it. It seems that when you wear a sports team’s logo on your clothing it is a way for someone to ask you a question about it. An excellent example of this happened while I was wearing my SpringBoks rugby jersey. I picked this up in Cape Town, South Africa when Amy and I were there a couple of years ago and the SpringBoks happened to win the World Rugby Cup while we were there. It was an amazing experience to be a part of and the jersey was really cool so I bought one.
At dinner a couple of nights ago in Istanbul we were seated next to a couple from Cork, Ireland. The husband asked me if we were from South Africa, because of my rugby jersey. That initial icebreaking question led to a wonderful conversation and ultimately an offer to sleep on their couch if we ever found ourselves in Cork.
It is because of this experience as well as multiple encounters in the US while wearing Ohio State gear that I believe that sports team wear can be a great visual icebreaker and allow people to connect over something in common. I hope to pick up a few additions for my sport team collection as we travel. Any suggestions for sports teams that will make for good icebreakers? Any other ideas on how to break the ice and strike up conversations with our fellow travelers?
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Davidson Basketball – after Stephen Currie world renowned. And I can’t imagine you won’t run into Yankee fans everywhere.
If you need any sweatshirts of Ts just let us know where to ship them.
xojd
That is awesome!! Darn shame I didn’t give you all Xavier t-shirts before you left — people would have been flocking you you left and right when they saw the great XU representation 🙂 hehe.
I had the same experience when i was in London a few years ago. I stayed at a hostel for a few nights, and found it very hard to strike up conversations. I ultimately just chalked it up to my timidness with strangers. Wish I had known about the Sports connection, probably would have helped.
Keith and Amy – Any shirt with city names or historical sites in the U.S. would work. G-Ma and A.Peg
If you wear Mets, Giants or Rangers gear in Philly, you will have insults and tangible objects hurled your way.